Tomato hybrid dr0159tx and parents thereof

ABSTRACT

The invention provides seed and plants of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and the parent lines thereof. The invention thus relates to the plants, seeds and tissue cultures of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and the parent lines thereof, and to methods for producing a tomato plant produced by crossing such plants with themselves or with another tomato plant, such as a plant of another genotype. The invention further relates to seeds and plants produced by such crossing. The invention further relates to parts of such plants, including the fruit and gametes of such plants.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and theinbred tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include any traitdeemed beneficial by a grower and/or consumer, including greater yield,resistance to insects or disease, tolerance to environmental stress, andnutritional value.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same plant or plant variety. A plant cross-pollinates if pollencomes to it from a flower of a different plant variety.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type over manygenerations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce auniform population of true breeding progeny, a homozygous plant. A crossbetween two such homozygous plants of different genotypes produces auniform population of hybrid plants that are heterozygous for many geneloci. Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number ofloci produces a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically andare not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makes performanceunpredictable.

The development of uniform varieties requires the development ofhomozygous inbred plants, the crossing of these inbred plants, and theevaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection areexamples of breeding methods that have been used to develop inbredplants from breeding populations. Those breeding methods combine thegenetic backgrounds from two or more plants or various other broad-basedsources into breeding pools from which new lines and hybrids derivedtherefrom are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes.The new lines and hybrids are evaluated to determine which of those havecommercial potential.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a tomato plant of thehybrid designated DR0159TX, the tomato line FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS or tomatoline TRSXI13-0020. Also provided are tomato plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of such a plant. Partsof these tomato plants are also provided, for example, including pollen,an ovule, scion, a rootstock, a fruit, and a cell of the plant.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of tomato hybrid DR0159TXand/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 comprising anadded heritable trait is provided. The heritable trait may comprise agenetic locus that is, for example, a dominant or recessive allele. Inone embodiment of the invention, a plant of tomato hybrid DR0159TXand/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 is defined ascomprising a single locus conversion. In specific embodiments of theinvention, an added genetic locus confers one or more traits such as,for example, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, disease resistance,and modified carbohydrate metabolism. In further embodiments, the traitmay be conferred by a naturally occurring gene introduced into thegenome of a line by backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or atransgene introduced through genetic transformation techniques into theplant or a progenitor of any previous generation thereof. Whenintroduced through transformation, a genetic locus may comprise one ormore genes integrated at a single chromosomal location.

The invention also concerns the seed of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and/ortomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020. The tomato seed of theinvention may be provided as an essentially homogeneous population oftomato seed of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020. Essentially homogeneous populationsof seed are generally free from substantial numbers of other seed.Therefore, in some embodiments, seed of hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomatolines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 may be defined as forming atleast about 97% of the total seed, including at least about 98%, 99% ormore of the seed. The seed population may be separately grown to providean essentially homogeneous population of tomato plants designatedDR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020.

In yet another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a tomato plant of hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating tomato plants capable ofexpressing all of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe starting plant, and of regenerating plants having substantially thesame genotype as the starting plant. Examples of some of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of the hybrid DR0159TXand/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 include thosetraits set forth in the tables herein. The regenerable cells in suchtissue cultures may be derived, for example, from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistils, flowers,seed and stalks. Still further, the present invention provides tomatoplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of hybridDR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing tomato seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent tomato plant with a second parenttomato plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent tomatoplants is a plant of tomato line FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS or tomato lineTRSXI13-0020. These processes may be further exemplified as processesfor preparing hybrid tomato seed or plants, wherein a first tomato plantis crossed with a second tomato plant of a different, distinct genotypeto provide a hybrid that has, as one of its parents, a plant of tomatoline FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS or tomato line TRSXI13-0020. In these processes,crossing will result in the production of seed. The seed productionoccurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and second parent tomato plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of first andsecond parent tomato plants into plants that bear flowers. A third stepmay comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, such as byemasculating the flowers (i.e., killing or removing the pollen).

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent tomato plants. Yet another step comprisesharvesting the seeds from at least one of the parent tomato plants. Theharvested seed can be grown to produce a tomato plant or hybrid tomatoplant.

The present invention also provides the tomato seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent tomato plant with asecond parent tomato plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent tomato plants is a plant of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomatolines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020. In one embodiment of theinvention, tomato seed and plants produced by the process are firstgeneration (F₁) hybrid tomato seed and plants produced by crossing aplant in accordance with the invention with another, distinct plant. Thepresent invention further contemplates plant parts of such an F₁ hybridtomato plant, and methods of use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplaryembodiments of the invention provide an F₁ hybrid tomato plant and seedthereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant derived from hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020, the method comprising the steps of:(a) preparing a progeny plant derived from hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomatolines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020, wherein said preparingcomprises crossing a plant of the hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 with a second plant; and (b)crossing the progeny plant with itself or a second plant to produce aseed of a progeny plant of a subsequent generation. In furtherembodiments, the method may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progenyplant of a subsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of asubsequent generation and crossing the progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration with itself or a second plant; and repeating the steps for anadditional 3-10 generations to produce a plant derived from hybridDR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020. Theplant derived from hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 may be an inbred line, and theaforementioned repeated crossing steps may be defined as comprisingsufficient inbreeding to produce the inbred line. In the method, it maybe desirable to select particular plants resulting from step (c) forcontinued crossing according to steps (b) and (c). By selecting plantshaving one or more desirable traits, a plant derived from hybridDR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 isobtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of the line/hybridas well as potentially other selected traits.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing food or feed comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of tomatohybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collecting atleast one tomato from the plant.

In still yet another aspect of the invention, the genetic complement oftomato hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS andTRSXI13-0020 is provided. The phrase “genetic complement” is used torefer to the aggregate of nucleotide sequences, the expression of whichsequences defines the phenotype of, in the present case, a tomato plant,or a cell or tissue of that plant. A genetic complement thus representsthe genetic makeup of a cell, tissue or plant, and a hybrid geneticcomplement represents the genetic make up of a hybrid cell, tissue orplant. The invention thus provides tomato plant cells that have agenetic complement in accordance with the tomato plant cells disclosedherein, and seeds and plants containing such cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that hybrid DR0159TX and/or tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 could be identified by any of themany well known techniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence LengthPolymorphisms (SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 18:6531-6535, 1990), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858,specifically incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), andSingle Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science,280:1077-1082, 1998).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by tomato plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a tomato plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second tomato plant, preferably, another, distincttomato plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a tomatoplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of the mean for the device or method being employed todetermine the value. The use of the term “or” in the claims is used tomean “and/or” unless explicitly indicated to refer to alternatives onlyor the alternatives are mutually exclusive. When used in conjunctionwith the word “comprising” or other open language in the claims, thewords “a” and “an” denote “one or more,” unless specifically notedotherwise. The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-endedlinking verbs. Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, suchas “comprises,” “comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and“including,” are also open-ended. For example, any method that“comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more steps is not limited topossessing only those one or more steps and also covers other unlistedsteps. Similarly, any plant that “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one ormore traits is not limited to possessing only those one or more traitsand covers other unlisted traits.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,seeds and derivatives of tomato hybrid DR0159TX, tomato lineFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and tomato line TRSXI13-0020.

Tomato hybrid DR0159TX, also known as VITALFORT and 14-XI-TRS-0159, isan indeterminate type rootstock variety. The hybrid producessmall-sized, round fruits that are medium-green when immature and darkyellow when ripe, have a green shoulder before maturity, and have twolocules. Plants grow very tall and have medium to dark green bipinnateleaves. Plant vigor is very strong and plant stems are very hairy.Autonecrosis is absent. The hybrid has resistance to Meloidogyneincognita (Mi); Verticillium sp. (Va and Vd) race 0; Fusarium oxysporumf. sp. lycopersici races 0 (ex1), race 1 (ex2), and race 2 (ex3);Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (For); tomato mosaic virus(ToMV) strains 0, 1, and 2; Fulvia fulva (Ff) (ex Cladosporium fulvum)groups A, B, C, D, and E; Pyrenochaeta lycopersici (Pl); and Oidiumneolycopersici (On).

Tomato line FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS is an indeterminate type variety of thetomato subspecies Solanum lycopersicum L. The line has medium plantvigor and produces medium-sized fruits that are medium-green whenimmature and red when ripe. The line segregates for genetic malesterility, which is linked to the color of the hypocotyls in seedlings;in male-sterile seedlings, the hypocotyl color is green, and inmale-fertile seedlings, the hypocotyl color is purple. The line hasresistance to Meloidogyne incognita (Mi); Verticillium sp. (Va and Vd)race 0; Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici races 0 (ex1) and race 1(ex2); Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis lycopersici (For); tomatomosaic virus (ToMV) strains 0, 1, and 2; Fulvia fulva (Ff) (exCladosporium fulvum) groups A, B, C, D, and E; and Oidium neolycopersici(On).

Tomato line TRSXI13-0020 is an indeterminate type variety of the tomatosubspecies Solanum habrochaites S. Knapp & D. M. Spooner. The line hasvery strong plant vigor and produces very small-sized, round fruits thatare green when immature and turn slightly cream/yellowish when ripe. Theline has resistance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici race 2(ex3) and Pyrenochaeta lycopersici (Pl).

A. Origin and Breeding History of Tomato Hybrid DR0159TX

The parents of hybrid DR0159TX are lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS andTRSXI13-0020. The parent lines are uniform and stable, as is a hybridproduced therefrom. A small percentage of variants can occur withincommercially acceptable limits for almost any characteristic during thecourse of repeated multiplication. However no variants are expected.

B. Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of Tomato HybridDR0159TX and Tomato Line TRSXI13-0020

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and the parent lines thereof.A description of the physiological and morphological characteristics ofsuch plants is presented in Tables 1-2.

TABLE 1 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of HybridDR0159TX Characteristic DR0159TX Maxifort 1. Seedling anthocyanincoloration of hypocotyl present present habit of 3-4 week old seedlingnormal normal 2. Mature Plant height 141.5 cm 158.7 cm height (observedafter fruit set on 5 medium-long long nodes) growth type indeterminateindeterminate form compact compact size of canopy (compared to others ofmedium large similar type) habit semi-erect semi-erect 3. Stemanthocyanin coloration of upper third weak absent or very weak- weaklength of internode (mean length of long long the internode between the1st and 4th trusses) branching profuse profuse branching at cotyledon orfirst leafy present present node number of nodes between first 7 to 1010 or more inflorescence number of nodes between early (1st to 1 to 4 1to 4 2nd, 2nd to 3rd) inflorescences number of nodes between later 1 to4 1 to 4 developing inflorescences pubescence on younger stems denselyhairy or moderately hairy wooly 4. Leaf type (mature leaf beneath the3rd tomato tomato inflorescence) Morphology (mature leaf beneath the 2-31 3rd inflorescence) margins of major leaflets (mature leaf shallowlytoothed or nearly entire beneath the 3rd inflorescence) scallopedmarginal rolling or wiltiness (mature moderate absent leaf beneath the3rd inflorescence) onset of leaflet rolling (mature leaf mid season N/Abeneath the 3rd inflorescence) surface of major leaflets (mature leafrugose (bumpy or smooth beneath the 3rd inflorescence) veiny) pubescence(mature leaf beneath the normal normal 3rd inflorescence) length longlong width medium broad size of leaflets large very large intensity ofgreen color dark dark glossiness medium medium blistering medium-strongweak 5. Inflorescence type (3rd inflorescence) forked (2 major simpleaxes) average number of flowers in 8.3 9.3 inflorescence (3rdinflorescence) leafy or “running” inflorescence (3rd absent absentinflorescence) 6. Flower calyx normal (lobes awl normal (lobes awlshaped) shaped) calyx-lobes shorter than corolla shorter than corollacorolla color yellow yellow style pubescence dense dense anthers allfused into tube all fused into tube fasciation (1st flower of 2nd or 3rdabsent absent inflorescence) 7. Peduncle abscission layer present(pedicellate) present (pedicellate) 8. Pedicel length medium medium 9.Fruit surface slightly rough smooth base color (mature-green stage)light gray-green light gray-green pattern (mature-green stage)green-shouldered/ green-shouldered radial stripes on side of fruitshoulder color if different from base dark green dark green greenshoulder present present extent of green shoulder small small intensityof green color of shoulder medium medium conspicuousness of meridianstripes strong medium size very small very small typical shape inlongitudinal section circular circular (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster)shape in longitudinal section circular circular shape oftransverse/cross section angular round (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster)shape of stem end (3rd fruit of 2nd or flat flat 3rd cluster) shape ofpistil scar (3rd fruit of 2nd dot dot or 3rd cluster) size ofstem/peduncle scar small small point of detachment of fruit at harvestat pedicel joint at pedicel joint (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster)length of dedicel (3rd fruit of 2nd or  9.4 mm  9.2 mm 3rd cluster)length of mature fruit (3rd fruit of 2nd  21.6 mm  23.6 mm or 3rdcluster) diameter of fruit (3rd fruit of 2nd or  21.7 mm  23.7 mm 3rdcluster) weight of mature fruit (3rd fruit of  6.9 g  8.7 g 2nd or 3rdcluster) core coreless (absent or coreless (absent or smaller than 6 × 6mm) smaller than 6 × 6 mm) number of locules two two number of loculesonly two two and three color, full ripe orange yellow color (atmaturity) orangish yellowish flesh color, full-ripe orange yellow fleshcolor uniform uniform locular gel color of table-ripe fruit green greenripening blossom-to-stem blossom-to-stem end end ripening uniformityuniformity epidermis color colorless colorless epidermis normal normalepidermis texture average tough thickness of pericarp very thin verythin 10. Phenology time of flowering medium medium autonecrosis presentpresent seeding to 50% flow (1 open on 50%   51 days   63 days ofplants) seeding to once over harvest   119 days   122 days fruitingseason long long relative maturity in areas tested late late 11.Adaptation culture greenhouse greenhouse machine harvest not adapted notadapted *These are typical values. Values may vary due to environment.Other values that are substantially equivalent are also within the scopeof the invention.

TABLE 2 Physiological and Morphological Characteristics of LineTRSXI13-0020 Characteristic TRSXI13-0020 Maxifort 1. Seedlinganthocyanin coloration of hypocotyl present present habit of 3-4 weekold seedling normal normal 2. Mature Plant height 132.1 cm 158.7 cmheight (observed after fruit set on 5 medium long nodes) growth typeindeterminate indeterminate form normal compact size of canopy (comparedto others of medium large similar type) habit sprawling semi-erect 3.Stem anthocyanin coloration of upper third absent or very absent or veryweak- weak-weak weak length of internode (mean length of long long theinternode between the 1st and 4th trusses) branching intermediateprofuse branching at cotyledon or first leafy present present nodenumber of nodes between first 7 to 10 10 or more inflorescence number ofnodes between early (1st to 1 to 4 1 to 4 2nd, 2nd to 3rd)inflorescences number of nodes between later 1 to 4 1 to 4 developinginflorescences pubescence on younger stems densely hairy or moderatelyhairy wooly 4. Leaf type (mature leaf beneath the 3rd tomato tomatoinflorescence) margins of major leaflets (mature leaf shallowly toothedor nearly entire beneath the 3rd inflorescence) scalloped marginalrolling or wiltiness (mature absent absent leaf beneath the 3rdinflorescence) surface of major leaflets (mature leaf rugose (bumpy orsmooth beneath the 3rd inflorescence) veiny) pubescence (mature leafbeneath the hirsute normal 3rd inflorescence) length short long widthnarrow-medium broad size of leaflets medium very large intensity ofgreen color light dark glossiness medium medium blistering medium weak5. Inflorescence type (3rd inflorescence) compound (much simplebranched) average number of flowers in 14.1 9.3 inflorescence (3rdinflorescence) leafy or “running” inflorescence (3rd absent absentinflorescence) 6. Flower calyx normal (lobes awl normal (lobes awlshaped) shaped) calyx-lobes shorter than corolla shorter than corollacorolla color yellow yellow style pubescence dense dense anthers allfused into tube all fused into tube fasciation (1st flower of 2nd or 3rdabsent absent inflorescence) 7. Peduncle abscission layer present(pedicellate) present (pedicellate) 8. Pedicel length medium medium 9.Fruit surface smooth smooth base color (mature-green stage) lightgray-green light gray-green pattern (mature-green stage)green-shouldered/ green-shouldered radial stripes on side of fruitshoulder color dark green dark green green shoulder present presentextent of green shoulder medium small intensity of green color ofshoulder medium medium conspicuousness of meridian stripes very strongmedium size very small very small typical shape in longitudinal sectionnarrow oblate circular (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) shape inlongitudinal section obovate circular shape of transverse/cross sectionangular round (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) shape of stem end (3rdfruit of 2nd or flat flat 3rd cluster) shape of pistil scar (3rd fruitof 2nd or dot dot 3rd cluster) size of stem/peduncle scar small smallpoint of detachment of fruit at harvest at pedicel joint at pediceljoint (3rd fruit of 2nd or 3rd cluster) length of dedicel (3rd fruit of2nd or  9.0 mm  9.2 mm 3rd cluster) length of mature fruit (3rd fruit of2nd  11.3 mm  23.6 mm or 3rd cluster) diameter of fruit (3rd fruit of2nd or  11.9 mm  23.7 mm 3rd cluster) weight of mature fruit (3rd fruitof  1.1 g  8.7 g 2nd or 3rd cluster) core coreless (absent or coreless(absent or smaller than 6 × 6 mm) smaller than 6 × 6 mm) number oflocules two two color, full ripe brownish yellow color (at maturity)orangish yellowish flesh color, full-ripe brownish yellow flesh coloruniform uniform locular gel color of table-ripe fruit green greenripening uniform blossom-to-stem end ripening uniformity uniformityepidermis color colorless colorless epidermis normal normal epidermistexture tough tough thickness of pericarp very thin very thin 10.Phenology time of flowering medium medium autonecrosis present presentseeding to 50% flow (1 open on 50%   59 days   63 days of plants)seeding to once over harvest   126 day   122 days fruiting season longlong relative maturity in areas tested late late 11. Adaptation culturegreenhouse greenhouse machine harvest not adapted not adapted *These aretypical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other values thatare substantially equivalent are also within the scope of the invention.

C. Breeding Tomato Plants

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for producing seedof tomato hybrid DR0159TX involving crossing tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020. Alternatively, in other embodimentsof the invention, hybrid DR0159TX, line FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS, or lineTRSXI13-0020 may be crossed with itself or with any second plant. Suchmethods can be used for propagation of hybrid DR0159TX and/or the tomatolines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020, or can be used to produceplants that are derived from hybrid DR0159TX and/or the tomato linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020. Plants derived from hybrid DR0159TXand/or the tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 may be used,in certain embodiments, for the development of new tomato varieties.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing hybrid DR0159TX followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novel lines,it may be desired to choose those plants which either themselves exhibitone or more selected desirable characteristics or which exhibit thedesired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Once initialcrosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take place to producenew varieties. For development of a uniform line, often five or moregenerations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform lines of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedinglines without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner true breeding lines can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous line.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers a specific desirable trait from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, forexample, by first crossing a superior inbred (A) (recurrent parent) to adonor inbred (non-recurrent parent), which carries the appropriate locusor loci for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross are thenmated back to the superior recurrent parent (A) followed by selection inthe resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from thenon-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations withselection for the desired trait, the progeny have the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The plants of the present invention are particularly well suited for thedevelopment of new lines based on the elite nature of the geneticbackground of the plants. In selecting a second plant to cross withDR0159TX and/or tomato lines FIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020 for thepurpose of developing novel tomato lines, it will typically be preferredto choose those plants which either themselves exhibit one or moreselected desirable characteristics or which exhibit the desiredcharacteristic(s) when in hybrid combination. Examples of desirabletraits may include, in specific embodiments, high seed yield, high seedgermination, seedling vigor, high fruit yield, disease tolerance orresistance, adaptability for soil and climate conditions, and delayedfruit ripening. Consumer-driven traits, such as a fruit shape, color,texture, and taste are other examples of traits that may be incorporatedinto new lines of tomato plants developed by this invention.

Delayed fruit ripening is a trait that is especially desirable in tomatoproduction, in that it provides a number of important benefits includingan increase in fruit shelf life, the ability to transport fruit longerdistances, the reduction of spoiling of fruit during transport orstorage, and an increase in the flexibility of harvest time. The abilityto delay harvest is especially useful for the processing industry astomato fruits may be picked in a single harvest. A number of genes havebeen identified as playing a role in fruit ripening in tomato. Mutationsin some of these genes were observed to be correlated with an extendedshelf life phenotype (Garg et al., Adv. Hort. Sci. 22: 54-62, 2008). Forexample, WO2010042865 discloses that certain mutations in the 2nd or 3rdexon in the non-ripening (NOR) gene can result in extended shelf lifephenotypes. These mutations are believed to result in an early stopcodon. It is therefore expected that any mutation resulting in an earlystop codon in an exon in the NOR gene, particularly a mutation resultingin an early stop codon in the 3rd exon, will result in a slower ripeningor an extended shelf life phenotype in tomato. A marker to select forthe unique mutation of each allele and to distinguish between thedifferent alleles of the NOR gene in a breeding program can be developedby methods known in the art.

D. Further Embodiments of the Invention

In certain aspects of the invention, plants described herein areprovided modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait.Such plants may, in one embodiment, be developed by a plant breedingtechnique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to a genetic locus transferred into the plant viathe backcrossing technique. The term single locus converted plant asused herein refers to those tomato plants which are developed by a plantbreeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially all of themorphological and physiological characteristics of a variety arerecovered in addition to the single locus transferred into the varietyvia the backcrossing technique. By essentially all of the morphologicaland physiological characteristics, it is meant that the characteristicsof a plant are recovered that are otherwise present when compared in thesame environment, other than an occasional variant trait that mightarise during backcrossing or direct introduction of a transgene.

Backcrossing methods can be used with the present invention to improveor introduce a characteristic into the present variety. The parentaltomato plant which contributes the locus for the desired characteristicis termed the nonrecurrent or donor parent. This terminology refers tothe fact that the nonrecurrent parent is used one time in the backcrossprotocol and therefore does not recur. The parental tomato plant towhich the locus or loci from the nonrecurrent parent are transferred isknown as the recurrent parent as it is used for several rounds in thebackcrossing protocol.

In a typical backcross protocol, the original variety of interest(recurrent parent) is crossed to a second variety (nonrecurrent parent)that carries the single locus of interest to be transferred. Theresulting progeny from this cross are then crossed again to therecurrent parent and the process is repeated until a tomato plant isobtained wherein essentially all of the morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of the recurrent parent are recovered in the convertedplant, in addition to the single transferred locus from the nonrecurrentparent.

The selection of a suitable recurrent parent is an important step for asuccessful backcrossing procedure. The goal of a backcross protocol isto alter or substitute a single trait or characteristic in the originalvariety. To accomplish this, a single locus of the recurrent variety ismodified or substituted with the desired locus from the nonrecurrentparent, while retaining essentially all of the rest of the desiredgenetic, and therefore the desired physiological and morphologicalconstitution of the original variety. The choice of the particularnonrecurrent parent will depend on the purpose of the backcross; one ofthe major purposes is to add some commercially desirable trait to theplant. The exact backcrossing protocol will depend on the characteristicor trait being altered and the genetic distance between the recurrentand nonrecurrent parents. Although backcrossing methods are simplifiedwhen the characteristic being transferred is a dominant allele, arecessive allele, or an additive allele (between recessive anddominant), may also be transferred. In this instance it may be necessaryto introduce a test of the progeny to determine if the desiredcharacteristic has been successfully transferred.

In one embodiment, progeny tomato plants of a backcross in which a plantdescribed herein is the recurrent parent comprise (i) the desired traitfrom the non-recurrent parent and (ii) all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of tomato the recurrent parent asdetermined at the 5% significance level when grown in the sameenvironmental conditions.

New varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

With the development of molecular markers associated with particulartraits, it is possible to add additional traits into an established germline, such as represented here, with the end result being substantiallythe same base germplasm with the addition of a new trait or traits.Molecular breeding, as described in Moose and Mumm, 2008 (PlantPhysiology, 147: 969-977), for example, and elsewhere, provides amechanism for integrating single or multiple traits or QTL into an eliteline. This molecular breeding-facilitated movement of a trait or traitsinto an elite line may encompass incorporation of a particular genomicfragment associated with a particular trait of interest into the eliteline by the mechanism of identification of the integrated genomicfragment with the use of flanking or associated marker assays. In theembodiment represented here, one, two, three or four genomic loci, forexample, may be integrated into an elite line via this methodology. Whenthis elite line containing the additional loci is further crossed withanother parental elite line to produce hybrid offspring, it is possibleto then incorporate at least eight separate additional loci into thehybrid. These additional loci may confer, for example, such traits as adisease resistance or a fruit quality trait. In one embodiment, eachlocus may confer a separate trait. In another embodiment, loci may needto be homozygous and exist in each parent line to confer a trait in thehybrid. In yet another embodiment, multiple loci may be combined toconfer a single robust phenotype of a desired trait.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal, or viral disease,insect resistance, modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, andaltered nutritional quality. These comprise genes generally inheritedthrough the nucleus.

Direct selection may be applied where the single locus acts as adominant trait. For this selection process, the progeny of the initialcross are assayed for viral resistance and/or the presence of thecorresponding gene prior to the backcrossing. Selection eliminates anyplants that do not have the desired gene and resistance trait, and onlythose plants that have the trait are used in the subsequent backcross.This process is then repeated for all additional backcross generations.

Selection of tomato plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent onthe phenotype of a plant and instead can be based on geneticinvestigations. For example, one can utilize a suitable genetic markerwhich is closely genetically linked to a trait of interest. One of thesemarkers can be used to identify the presence or absence of a trait inthe offspring of a particular cross, and can be used in selection ofprogeny for continued breeding. This technique is commonly referred toas marker assisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or otherassay which is able to identify the relative presence or absence of atrait of interest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes.Procedures for marker assisted selection are well known in the art. Suchmethods will be of particular utility in the case of recessive traitsand variable phenotypes, or where conventional assays may be moreexpensive, time consuming or otherwise disadvantageous. Types of geneticmarkers which could be used in accordance with the invention include,but are not necessarily limited to, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs) (Williams et al., Nucleic Acids Res., 1 8:6531-6535, 1990),Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (EP 534 858, specifically incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs) (Wang et al., Science, 280:1077-1082, 1998).

E. Plants Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those which are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into a plant of the invention or may,alternatively, be used for the preparation of transgenes which can beintroduced by backcrossing. Methods for the transformation of plantsthat are well known to those of skill in the art and applicable to manycrop species include, but are not limited to, electroporation,microprojectile bombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation anddirect DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

An efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segments to plantcells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particles arecoated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the Biolistics Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target cells. The screen disperses the particles so thatthey are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations(Klee et al., Bio-Technology, 3(7):637-642, 1985). Moreover, recenttechnological advances in vectors for Agrobacterium-mediated genetransfer have improved the arrangement of genes and restriction sites inthe vectors to facilitate the construction of vectors capable ofexpressing various polypeptide coding genes. The vectors described haveconvenient multi-linker regions flanked by a promoter and apolyadenylation site for direct expression of inserted polypeptidecoding genes. Additionally, Agrobacterium containing both armed anddisarmed Ti genes can be used for transformation.

In those plant strains where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (Fraley et al., Bio/Technology, 3:629-635, 1985; U.S.Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments (see, e.g.,Potrykus et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 199:183-188, 1985; Omirulleh et al.,Plant Mol. Biol., 21(3):415-428, 1993; Fromm et al., Nature,312:791-793, 1986; Uchimiya et al., Mol. Gen. Genet., 204:204, 1986;Marcotte et al., Nature, 335:454, 1988). Transformation of plants andexpression of foreign genetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al.(Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994), and Ellul et al. (Theor. Appl.Genet., 107:462-469, 2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for plant gene expressioninclude, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV)P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expression inmost plant tissues (see, e.g., Odel et al., Nature, 313:810, 1985),including in monocots (see, e.g., Dekeyser et al., Plant Cell, 2:591,1990; Terada and Shimamoto, Mol. Gen. Genet., 220:389, 1990); a tandemlyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S);1 the nopaline synthase promoter (An et al., Plant Physiol.,88:547, 1988); the octopine synthase promoter (Fromm et al., Plant Cell,1:977, 1989); and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter as describedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619 and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter(P-eFMV) where the promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem;the cauliflower mosaic virus 19S promoter; a sugarcane bacilliform viruspromoter; a commelina yellow mottle virus promoter; and other plant DNAvirus promoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can alsobe used for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells,including promoters regulated by (1) heat (Callis et al., PlantPhysiol., 88:965, 1988), (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter,Kuhlemeier et al., Plant Cell, 1:471, 1989; maize rbcS promoter,Schaffner and Sheen, Plant Cell, 3:997, 1991; or chlorophyll a/b-bindingprotein promoter, Simpson et al., EMBO J., 4:2723, 1985), (3) hormones,such as abscisic acid (Marcotte et al., Plant Cell, 1:969, 1989), (4)wounding (e.g., wunl, Siebertz et al., Plant Cell, 1:961, 1989); or (5)chemicals such as methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It mayalso be advantageous to employ organ-specific promoters (e.g., Roshal etal., EMBO J., 6:1155, 1987; Schernthaner et al., EMBO J., 7:1249, 1988;Bustos et al., Plant Cell, 1:839, 1989).

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to plants of thisinvention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes from anotherspecies, or even genes or sequences which originate with or are presentin the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cells bygenetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a tomato plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a tomato plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,500,365 and 5,880,275, hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety. In another embodiment, thestructural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate asconferred by genes including, but not limited to Agrobacterium strainCP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) as described in U.S. Pat.No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, orglyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S. Pat. No.5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms (see, for example, Birdet al., Biotech. Gen. Engin. Rev., 9:207, 1991). The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (i.e., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product (see for example, Gibson and Shillito, Mol.Biotech., 7:125, 1997). Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

F. Definitions

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

Allele: Any of one or more alternative forms of a gene locus, all ofwhich alleles relate to one trait or characteristic. In a diploid cellor organism, the two alleles of a given gene occupy corresponding locion a pair of homologous chromosomes.

Backcrossing: A process in which a breeder repeatedly crosses hybridprogeny, for example a first generation hybrid (F₁), back to one of theparents of the hybrid progeny. Backcrossing can be used to introduce oneor more single locus conversions from one genetic background intoanother.

Crossing: The mating of two parent plants.

Cross-pollination: Fertilization by the union of two gametes fromdifferent plants.

Diploid: A cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

Emasculate: The removal of plant male sex organs or the inactivation ofthe organs with a cytoplasmic or nuclear genetic factor or a chemicalagent conferring male sterility.

Enzymes: Molecules which can act as catalysts in biological reactions.

F₁ Hybrid: The first generation progeny of the cross of two nonisogenicplants.

Genotype: The genetic constitution of a cell or organism.

Haploid: A cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

Linkage: A phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosome tend tosegregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

Marker: A readily detectable phenotype, preferably inherited incodominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploid heterozygoteare readily detectable), with no environmental variance component, i.e.,heritability of 1.

Phenotype: The detectable characteristics of a cell or organism, whichcharacteristics are the manifestation of gene expression.

Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL): Quantitative trait loci (QTL) refer togenetic loci that control to some degree numerically representabletraits that are usually continuously distributed.

Resistance: As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” areused interchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to aspecified biotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmentalcondition. These terms are also used to describe plants showing somesymptoms but that are still able to produce marketable product with anacceptable yield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant ortolerant are only so in the sense that they may still produce a crop,even though the plants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

Regeneration: The development of a plant from tissue culture.

Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) color chart value: The RHS color chartis a standardized reference which allows accurate identification of anycolor. A color's designation on the chart describes its hue, brightnessand saturation. A color is precisely named by the RHS color chart byidentifying the group name, sheet number and letter, e.g., Yellow-OrangeGroup 19A or Red Group 41B.

Self-pollination: The transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigmaof the same plant.

Single Locus Converted (Conversion) Plant: Plants which are developed bya plant breeding technique called backcrossing, wherein essentially allof the morphological and physiological characteristics of a tomatovariety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of the singlelocus transferred into the variety via the backcrossing technique and/orby genetic transformation.

Substantially Equivalent: A characteristic that, when compared, does notshow a statistically significant difference (e.g., p=0.05) from themean.

Tissue Culture: A composition comprising isolated cells of the same or adifferent type or a collection of such cells organized into parts of aplant.

Transgene: A genetic locus comprising a sequence which has beenintroduced into the genome of a tomato plant by transformation.

G. Deposit Information

A deposit of tomato hybrid DR0159TX and inbred parent linesFIR-190-ZILVER-GMS and TRSXI13-0020, disclosed above and recited in theclaims, has been made with the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC),10801 University Blvd., Manassas, Va. 20110-2209. The date of depositfor tomato hybrid DR0159TX and inbred parent line TRSXI13-0020 was Aug.24, 2016. The accession numbers for those deposited seeds of tomatohybrid DR0159TX and inbred parent line TRSXI13-0020 are ATCC AccessionNo. PTA-123455 and PTA-123454, respectively. Upon issuance of a patent,all restrictions upon the deposits will be removed, and the deposits areintended to meet all of the requirements of 37 C.F.R. § 1.801-1.809. Thedeposits will be maintained in the depository for a period of 30 years,or 5 years after the last request, or for the effective life of thepatent, whichever is longer, and will be replaced if necessary duringthat period.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

1. A tomato plant grown from the seed of claim
 2. 2. A tomato seed oftomato hybrid DR0159TX, a sample of seed of said hybrid DR0159TX havingbeen deposited under ATCC Accession Number PTA-123455. 3-9. (canceled)10. A plant part of the plant of claim
 1. 11. The plant part of claim10, further defined as a leaf, an ovule, pollen, a fruit, or a cell. 12.A tomato plant having all of the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of the tomato plant of claim
 1. 13. A tissue culture ofregenerable cells of the plant of claim
 1. 14. The tissue cultureaccording to claim 13, comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant partselected from the group consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons,pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed andstalks.
 15. A tomato plant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim13, wherein said plant comprises all of the physiological andmorphological characteristics of tomato hybrid DR0159TX.
 16. A method ofvegetatively propagating the tomato plant of claim 1 comprising thesteps of: (a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from theplant according to claim 1; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtainproliferated shoots; and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtainrooted plantlets.
 17. The method of claim 16, further comprising growingat least a first tomato plant from said rooted plantlets. 18-19.(canceled)
 20. A method of producing a tomato plant comprising an addedtrait, the method comprising introducing a transgene conferring thetrait into the plant of claim
 1. 21. A tomato plant produced by themethod of claim
 20. 22. A plant of tomato hybrid DR0159TX, a sample ofseed of said hybrid DR0159TX having been deposited under ATCC AccessionNumber PTA-123455, further comprising a transgene.
 23. The plant ofclaim 22, wherein the transgene confers a trait selected from the groupconsisting of male sterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance,pest resistance, disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism,environmental stress tolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism andmodified protein metabolism.
 24. A plant of tomato hybrid DR0159TX, asample of seed of said hybrid DR0159TX having been deposited under ATCCAccession Number PTA-123455, further comprising a single locusconversion.
 25. The plant of claim 24, wherein the single locusconversion confers a trait selected from the group consisting of malesterility, herbicide tolerance, insect resistance, pest resistance,disease resistance, modified fatty acid metabolism, environmental stresstolerance, modified carbohydrate metabolism and modified proteinmetabolism.
 26. A method for producing a seed of a tomato plant derivedfrom tomato hybrid DR0159TX comprising the steps of: (a) crossing thetomato plant of claim 1 with itself or a second tomato plant; and (b)allowing seed of a hybrid DR0159TX derived tomato plant to form.
 27. Amethod of producing a seed of a hybrid DR0159TX derived tomato plantcomprising the steps of: (a) producing a hybrid DR0159TX derived tomatoplant from a seed produced by crossing the tomato plant of claim 1 withitself or a second tomato plant; and (b) crossing the hybrid DR0159TXderived tomato plant with itself or a different tomato plant to obtain aseed of a further hybrid DR0159TX derived tomato plant.
 28. The methodof claim 27, further comprising repeating said producing and crossingsteps of (a) and (b) using a seed from said step (b) for producing aplant according to step (a) for at least one generation to produce aseed of an additional hybrid DR0159TX derived tomato plant. 29-30.(canceled)
 31. A method of producing a tomato seed comprising crossingthe plant of claim 1 with itself or a second tomato plant and allowingseed to form.
 32. A method of producing a tomato fruit comprising: (a)obtaining the plant according to claim 1, wherein the plant has beencultivated to maturity; and (b) collecting a tomato fruit from theplant.